He had transmigrated.
The method had a raw, primitive kind of elegance.
Takashina Kai was heading home after buying instant noodles, sausages, and eggs, planning to reward himself with a hearty meal, when a blaring horn sounded behind him. Turning around, he saw a runaway truck speeding toward him like it was yelling, "Time to reincarnate, kid!" It smashed into him, sent him flying, and crushed his head on a second pass. Just like that, he was gone—and reborn.
It was probably like smashing a watermelon with a baseball bat, bits flying everywhere. Though Kai wasn't sure if it was truly that grotesque. Right before he lost consciousness, he saw the massive tire up close, heard people screaming, and saw smartphone flashes snapping away.
Enough of that. This isn't some dark web thread—no need to dwell on 18+ horror.
Anyway, after waking up in a new world, Kai discovered he had replaced someone in a Japanese-style family. The neighbors all had Japanese names, but the insurance card still had his original name: Takashina Kai.
He figured it was a physical transmigration, not just his soul. His body, height, build, and birthmarks were all the same. He was even wearing the same clothes, still bearing tire tracks and dried red-and-white goo. Everything was unchanged.
Wait a minute… is that my brain?
In this world, he now owned a two-story standalone house with a yard. A single bank card showed an eight-digit balance, with the PIN helpfully written on a sticky note. The card was in the name of Takashina Kai.
After searching the house, Kai guessed he was in a parallel world. The original Kai here seemed nearly identical to him, aside from being a bit slimmer. Just like in his past life, his parents had died early, and he had grown up in an orphanage.
Interestingly, the original Kai had kept a diary. Though most entries were trivial, they painted a picture of a recluse who lived off savings, played games, and watched anime all day. No family, no friends. That suited Kai just fine.
"Who even writes a diary these days?"
After carefully examining his new home and grasping the basics, Kai looked at the diary and muttered his thoughts.
There was probably no going back. Since he'd taken over this life, he'd just have to live it out.
Besides, the setup felt almost too perfect. No family, no friends, plenty of money, a house—it was like the world was tailor-made for him.
Could it be that I'm a novel protagonist with some grand mission ahead?
Back in his old world, Kai was a webnovel author living alone in a rented room. The thought made him curious.
"Normally, protagonists who transmigrate get a cheat. In fanfic stories, it's usually a system. A sign-in system would be best, though those systems are often more good for warming the bed than doing anything useful. So… is there a system? Hello? System? System-chan? System-kun?"
He struck various poses and called out dramatically, but no response came. Just him shouting to no one.
"Alright, no system. At least there's no need for battles. A peaceful slice-of-life it is."
Feeling a bit foolish, Kai cleared his throat and went upstairs to the gaming room. Avoiding the consoles stacked on one side, he sat at the computer and began searching news and history to get a better understanding of the world.
Even though the results were in Japanese, he could read them perfectly—and even speak them fluently. No matter the language—English, French, Arabic—he could read and pronounce them all without issue.
So my cheat is the ability to speak every language?
Doesn't seem all that useful right now…
Still, after thorough checking, the world didn't seem much different from his old one. No monsters in the news, no recurring gas explosions in Fuyuki City, no Umbrella Corporation, no Miskatonic University. The sun hadn't aged prematurely, nothing was invading from beyond the solar system. Everything seemed normal.
Then he came across the name Shuchiin Academy.
Shuchiin… isn't that from Kaguya-sama: Love is War?
Looking further, he found the Shinomiya Group. That confirmed it. He was in the world created by Akasaka.
He kept searching. No hits for Toyosaki Academy or Slbu High—so Yukinoshita and Kasumigaoka might not exist here. Then he found Suimei University of the Arts. If it had a high school branch, maybe Sakurasou existed too.
Also, he saw news about a popular guitar-playing heroine. So Bocchi was real in this world too?
It looked like he had entered a crossover anime world—one of those daily-life slice-of-life types.
Shutting off the computer, Kai sat in the chair and began sorting his thoughts.
He had replaced someone in this world—someone nearly identical to himself.
He had a cheat that let him understand every language.
He had a house, money, and no social obligations.
And this world seemed filled with anime girls—probably a fanfic-style daily-life crossover world.
That means… I'm going to be the protagonist of a slice-of-life harem story?
It was a little disappointing that the cat-themed world's rules banned him from having sisters, but the plot ahead surely included tons of fanservice, right?
The more he thought about it, the more exciting it became.
Kai admitted he liked risqué stuff. His mind was already racing with plots that would get censored if written out.
He began fantasizing about becoming the protagonist of a fanfic slice-of-life harem anime, imagining readers watching and waiting for him to charm every girl.
But for now, the priority was finishing his investigation of the house. There was a small shed in the yard he hadn't checked.
Slipping on shoes, he stepped into the yard and opened the shed. A cool breeze sent a chill down his spine.
Weird. It's warm out today.
He turned on his phone's flashlight and looked inside. It was just a regular storage shed—brooms, shovels, a lawnmower, seed bags, and dust.
Maybe that cold air was just his imagination.
"Seeds? Planning to farm the yard? Is that supposed to be a traditional gag?"
Muttering, Kai walked inside. At the very back of the shelf sat a small black box with a note stuck on it.
A hidden item?
After several hours of investigation without any supernatural findings, Kai hesitated for just a second before reaching for it.
It felt metallic and cool to the touch.
Despite sitting in a dusty shed, the box was spotless and slightly reflective, like new.
Kai bent down and looked at the note:
[Don't let anyone know where you came from]
What does that mean?
Before he could think further, the box clicked open by itself.
Darkness swallowed his vision. He lost consciousness instantly.
In the hazy void, he heard a voice.
Genderless, unplaceable, unsettling. It chuckled near his ear and spoke:
[Welcome to the Sacrifice Game]
[Your difficulty level: Dusk]
[May you witness the end, within true terror]